Here at the Friends of the Western Swamp Tortoise, we’re doing what we can, but bringing a species back from the brink of extinction is no small task! But the good news is that there are a number of ways you can help the tortoises. Basically, you can donate money, help us raise funds, or you can help us raise awareness of the tortoises’ plight. Perhaps you’d like to join us at FoWST—we have plenty of great field trips and other activities and it’s FREE.

Membership of the group is FREE – Click Here.

Why do fieldwork?

Activities like revegetating the nature reserves help the tortoise to live in a more diverse and resilient environment. For example, more endemic plants support more insects, which means more dragonflies, which means more dragonfly larvae (in the water), which the tortoises feed upon. Installing artificial aestivation tunnels helps the tortoises survive the extremes of heatwaves, fires and other threats which might kill them if they were using less secure aestivation sites like leaf litter. And what helps the tortoises also helps many other species living in and around the same habitat, such as waterbirds, bandicoots and birds of prey.

And what about fundraising? How does this help the tortoises survive?

Whilst much of the funding for the activities of the Recovery Team and the Friends of the Western Swamp Tortoise has in the past come from federal and state government grants and some Lotterywest grants, these sources are drying up (much like the swamps!) due to changing economic fortunes and party politics. Hence it has become more important to raise money for, eg tracking equipment for scientists observing the tortoises in the field, by hosting small events like the food-lovers’ tour (see Tortoise Tales newsletter #9), movie nights, stalls and sausage sizzles. If you have some ideas and a little time to help organise an event, contact us today!

JOIN US

FoWST is always looking for interested active people to join us. There is NO FEE for membership. If you’ve looked around the site and have decided you want to join us, then all you need to do is click on the ‘Membership’ button at the top of the site and fill in your details. You won’t get loads of junk email but you will get invited to some interesting events!

Membership of the group is FREE – Click Here.

Why should you become an active member of the Friends Group?

• You’ll experience new things and meet a great bunch of people.
• You’ll have some fun and learn about conservation.
• You may be able to release a Perth Zoo hatchling into the wild.
• It’s a way to get actively involved with your community.
• You can do it to celebrate biodiversity.
• It helps support one of the world’s most endangered tortoises.
• It’s a way that you can make a real difference, making our part of the world a better place.

AWARENESS

We now have packages that we can distribute to schools in and around Perth. These resources are largely aimed at primary school children, but a number of them could also be used for older kids.

If you want to help raise awareness, schools are the place to start.

You may also know of a group that would be interested in hearing about the WST. We can speak at events and bring along a display about the tortoise and our activities. If you’d like to know more, just ring or email.

DONATIONS

If you just want to donate money, you can Give Now or make a direct EFT payment to us, just use these details:

Friends of the Western Swamp Tortoise Inc.

Westpac, South Perth, BSB: 036308, Acc. no.: 201858

If you need a receipt, email us the details of your EFT and we’ll send you one.